Net income in the quarter through December rose to 127.2 billion yen (US$1.1 billion), the company said in a statement Wednesday. The carmaker topped the 120.6 billion yen average of eight analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

With Americans buying a record number of new vehicles last year, Nissan joined other automakers in riding the wave of low gasoline prices, cheap credit and an improving labor market. The company's sales gain outpaced peers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co for the third-straight year, with Rogue deliveries surging 44 per cent, the biggest jump among top models.

"It's very clear the driving force is North America," Seiji Sugiura, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center, said before Nissan released its results. "Their new cars have contributed to improvement in both profitability and sales." Nissan fell 1.8 per cent to 985.3 yen in Tokyo before releasing earnings. The benchmark Topix index declined 3 per cent.

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Shares of carmakers including Nissan have plunged this year as the yen has strengthened, climbing past 115 per dollar for the first time in more than a year on Tuesday. Investors are pouring into Japan's currency as a haven amid concerns that global growth is fading. Nissan has declined 23 per cent in 2016, compared with declines of 18 per cent for Toyota and 26 per cent for Honda.